Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Raised by LJI Wealth Management LLC

LJI Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 26.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. LJI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Citigroup lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $154.00. 11,328,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,017,128. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.02.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.